CD reviews for Abigail Washburn

Well known in the folk/acoustic world for melding Appalachian old time music with ancient Chinese folk, Abigail Washburn's work with Uncle Earl and the Sparrow Quartet is nonetheless scant preparation for the scope of her latest project. "Afterquake," an album of folky electronica she put together after the 2009 Chinese earthquake with Chinese-American DJ and producer Dave Liang, may be a better indicator of the expansive, multi-genre mindset at work here.
The cast of musical »»»

Among all the loosely and imperfectly defined genres that we employ tocategorize and make some sort of sense out of the music we hear and buy, there may be no more difficult music to accurately describe than "old time" music. To many ears, it's confined to the realm of high-energy Appalachian string bands, while to others, it includes the bluesy and occasionally bawdy songs of the likes of Jimmie Rodgers and Charlie Poole. Still others think of bluegrass as being part of old time though, while »»»

Editorial: Walking the talk –
When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»

Concert Review: Old, new, it's all good for Platt & The Honeycutters –
Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters were not mounting the stage with anything particularly new to push. The quartet's self-titled fifth album came out just over 1 ½-years ago. Lest one think that Platt and band were growing tired of life on the road, far from it.
In a well-delivered 85-minute set, Platt and The Honeycutters turned that ancient... »»»

Concert Review: Lake Street Dive ends the year in style –
Lake Street Dive may have been looking back when it offered that traditional New Year's song "Auld Lang Syne" as the new year rolled in. No matter which way the band looks - forwards or backwards - life is good.
For the second time in six weeks, Lake Street Dive was back home (the Brooklyn-based group formed at the local New England... »»»

Suffice it to say that the past has always loomed large throughout Chip Taylor's career. That's all the more obvious if only for the fact that Taylor wrote some of the biggest pop hits of the '60s, "Wild Thing"... »»»

Dan Tyminski (known simply as "Tyminski" on his 2017 release "Southern Gothic") has traditional music roots and unassailable bluegrass street cred especially given his membership in Alison Krauss' Union Station. He is also a powerful songwriter and has been writing songs for himself and others for years now.... »»»

Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn have powerhouse individual talents; each has followed an estimable career path to where they find themselves today: making complex, but spare, records, writing music together and touring with their son Juno. Their new release, "Echoes In The Valley" features mostly songs written by Fleck and Washburn, banjos, Washburn's strong vocals and very little else.... »»»

Is Ronnie Milsap proud of his age? For a clue, look no further than the name of his "76 for 76" Tour. There are some other numbers the North Carolina native is probably fond of, such as 40 number 1 records or 6 Grammys. »»»

California country singer-songwriter Alice Wallace is back with her fourth album, as "Into the Blue" marks her debut for the female-owned Rebelle Road label, a group intent on giving women a stronger platform in music. »»»

Formed in 2007, Balsam Range already earned many international Bluegrass Music Association Awards across six albums. On their seventh, the acoustic quintet features four-part harmonies on most tunes, while the »»»